Out Where the Buses Don't Run
"}} "Out Where the Buses Don't Run" is the third episode of Miami Vice's second season. It premiered on October 18, 1985, and was rerun on January 3, 1986 and June 13, 1986. Summary Solving an old drug case depends on a mentally unstable ex-Vice cop. Plot Crockett and Tubbs are watching Manuel "Skates" Santino, a rollerskating low-level drug dealer, at the beach. While they wait to move in, Crockett gets a feeling that he's being watched. Tubbs laughs it off and tells him to forget about it, not knowing there is an unidentified figure photographing them from a nearby building. Crockett and Tubbs move in to bust Skates and he tries to take off, but is stopped by a bible-swinging disciple of the Rev. Marvelle Quinn, who is preaching in the beachfront park. Hank Weldon walks into OCB, introducing himself to Crockett, Tubbs and Castillo, despite the fact they are in the middle of a debriefing after the morning's operation. After some confusion, Crockett recognizes him as an ex-Vice Detective that he heard about while he was up-and-coming. Weldon shows Crockett and Tubbs the pictures he took of them while they were staking out Skates, and quickly points out that the target of their investigation -- Skates' employer Freddie Constanza -- is insignificant; the person they really want is Tony Arcaro. This is met with some skepticism, as while Tony Arcaro is a known big-time drug dealer, he disappeared five years previously, soon after he was famously acquitted on a technicality, and is presumed dead despite the fact his body was never found. Weldon tells them that when Arcaro disappeared Costanza took over his organization with Ray Pinchada as his lieutenant, and that Pinchada is going to have Costanza hit at lunch at The Ocean Club the next day, on the orders of Arcaro. After Weldon leaves, Castillo tells Crockett and Tubbs to check him out. They find a wealth of commendations in his file, but also find out that he quit the force suddenly in 1979 with little explanation. They also track down his former partner, Marty Lang, and find that he is working a high-ranking federal job. Despite Weldon's erratic and sometimes cartoonish behavior, Crockett and Tubbs decide there may be some merit to what he has been saying. Tubbs stops by the St. Vitus Dance and admits to having weird dreams about Weldon. They stop by Lang's office and try to find out more about the eccentric Weldon. He tells them that Weldon was obsessed with Arcaro, building a case against him over three years, and suffered a mental breakdown when Arcaro was released. His wife Lorraine, who loved him deeply, moved away and changed her name to avoid him, while Weldon was given a medical discharge from the police force. Crockett and Tubbs leave the uneasy meeting suspecting that Lang is hiding something. When they exit the building they find Weldon sitting on the hood of Tubbs' Coupe de Ville. He asks if Lang told them he was crazy, and after throwing a fit when his offer of help is rejected, takes Crockett and Tubbs to his house to meet Lorraine -- a computer containing pictures of Constanza, Pinchada, and Bernie Wingo, who briefly managed Arcaro's business before he too disappeared, not long after Arcaro. Weldon's mood swings drastically from calm and collected to irate and verbally violent with little provocation, screaming that he wants Arcaro before begging to go to lunch at The Ocean Club to watch the hit on Constanza. Before leaving, Tubbs takes the disk out of Lorraine. At'' The Ocean Club'', Crockett checks the reservation list and finds there is no Constanza scheduled for lunch. Weldon asks them to turn around, and there sits Constanza, eating a lavish lunch. The hit goes down, just as Weldon said it would; Crockett chases and shoots the hitman down, then they arrest Weldon for not reporting the planned crime professionally. At OCB, Castillo questions Weldon's sanity, as, despite his apparent mental instability, everything he has claimed has come true. He decides to release him. Switek hooks up a computer for Crockett and Tubbs to have a conversation with Lorraine using the disk Tubbs took. After going through several password attempts, they get into the program. Weldon is later on the St. Vitus Dance with Crockett, explaining that he met a low-level dealer, Stiltsy O'Brien, while he was in jail, and that O'Brien told him how he had to get out of jail today in order to meet up with Wingo and Pinchada on a big drug deal the next day. Tubbs calls Castillo and they decide to follow Weldon's lead. The Vice squad set up surveillance at a Stiltsville house, where again, just as Weldon predicted, the particulars show up via boat. Castillo orders everyone to move in. The dealers are either killed or arrested, but Weldon storms into the stilt house and starts screaming for Tony, crying out in anguish "What am I gonna tell Lorraine?!" when he realizes Arcaro isn't there. While sleeping at the office, Castillo gets a phonecall from Weldon, telling him that it's over between him and Lorraine and he's getting out. Crockett and Tubbs go to the ex-Detective's house to find Lorraine destroyed and no sign of Weldon. Weldon later calls again, claiming to have arrested Arcaro and giving an address. Castillo sends Crockett and Tubbs to go meet Weldon; when Tubbs asks for backup, Castillo tells him he knows what he needs. Crockett and Tubbs drive across Miami to an abandoned apartment complex, only to find it apparently deserted. Suddenly Weldon appears, directing them to the room where he has "arrested" Arcaro. When Tubbs comments that the room is empty, Weldon snatches up a length of pipe and smashes through the plasterboard wall to reveal Arcaro's emaciated body, dressed in the clothes he was wearing when he was acquitted and clutching the newspaper that reported his release in his dead fingers. Crockett reaches into the wall and pulls out the paper. Castillo arrives with Lang, and Crockett accuses him of knowing about the murder. Lang admits that he helped Weldon build the wall, flatly stating, "He was my partner, you understand?" As Metro-Dade officers surround the building and prepare to arrest Weldon, Crockett confirms that he does. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *Bruce McGill as Hank Weldon *David Strathairn as Marty Lang *Little Richard as Rev. Marvelle Quinn Co-Starring *Sandra Pereiro as Girl With Bible *Scott Randolph as Manuel "Skates" Santino Uncredited *Alex Edlin as Restaurant Hitman *Unknown as Tony Arcaro Notes * Castillo gives his classic staredown to Weldon before he reluctantly shakes his hand. * This episode is loosely based on a true story that occurred in Miami in the 1970s. * The episode was pre-empted one week due to NBC's coverage of Game 3 of the 1985 American League Championship Series between the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays. * "Baba O'Riley" (a live version of which is used in the opening scene) was the theme to CSI: New York (2004-2013). Another song by The Who, "We Don't Get Fooled Again", was used as the theme to CSI: Miami (2002-2012), also set in Miami (although it is filmed in Long Beach, California). * We see Castillo sleeping at OCB for the first time here. He does this periodically throughout the series, especially on really tough cases. * This episode, along with season 1's "Evan," is generally considered the best in the series; it ranked #90 on a top 100 all-time TV episode list by TV Guide in 1997, the only Miami Vice episode to make the list. * Jan Hammer's music used in "The Home Invaders" is present throughout the show, especially in the scenes involving Weldon. * When this episode was filmed, there were 14 Stiltsville houses standing, after Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992, seven of the houses were destroyed, leaving seven still standing, and are now under the National Park Service as part of Biscayne National Park. * The climactic scene where Crockett and Tubbs drive to 114 South Waters shares many similarities with the "In The Air Tonight" scene from the pilot. Both songs feature contemporary music, muted background sounds, and an emphasis on the Daytona's engine noise. * The aforementioned final scene is rated by many Miami Vice fans as one of the most moving of the whole series, as it reveals the previously light-hearted and jovial character of Weldon to be genuinely disturbed, accompanied by haunting music from Dire Straits. * Weldon's computer is named Lorraine, after his wife, who left him per his character's backstory for this episode. Lorraine was also the name of the Amiga prototype that appeared at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, held on January 4, 1984. Interestingly, the Amiga prototype was named after its motherboard, which was called Lorraine after the company president's wife. When introduced to Weldon's computer, Tubbs claims that the Vice Department has computers "just like this", to which Weldon replies, "Really? Like Lorraine? I don't think so!" Even taken as a tongue-in-cheek joke directed at the real-world Lorraine computer, this would've been correct, as the Amiga prototype would've been far and above anything Metro-Dade could obtain at the time. * Bruce McGill was cast only days before production began, after Dennis Hopper, for whom the role was written, pulled out. McGill flew from New York to Miami during the middle of the night to arrive on time, and began reading the script without having slept for some time. Goofs * During the "I Fought the Law" scene, Tubbs is clearly not driving the Cadillac. At one point they make a lane change, yet he hardly touches the wheel. * While lying in wait at the Stiltsville boathouse, Tubbs puts a magazine into his M16 twice. * After Crockett and Tubbs arrive at 114 South Waters, where Arcaro is entombed, they are seen walking from Crockett's Daytona toward the building. On the ground, just behind Tubbs, the camera man's shadow is visible. The shadow of the camera itself is then also briefly seen on Tubbs's back. Production Notes * Working Title: "Off The Wall" * Filmed: July 29, 1985 - August 6, 1985 * Production Code: 60006 * Production Order: 25 Filming Locations *1126 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach (Opening at beach with Skates and Rev. Quinn) *Marina behind Double Tree Hotel 1717 N. Bayshore Dr., Miami (Crockett/Tubbs see Weldon after meeting with Lang) *4400 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami (Weldon's house) *701 Ocean Drive, Key Biscayne (Ocean Club) *Stiltsville near Key Biscayne (Drug raid) *Biscayne Bar and Grill (Weldon on payphone calling Castillo) *MacArthur Causeway east-Alton Road north-8th Street Miami Beach east-Washington Ave (S) - 5th Street (W) (Car route Crockett/Tubbs take to final meeting with Weldon) *3015 Grand Ave/Virginia Str (House where Arcaro is entombed, now home to a shopping mall) Music *"Baba O'Riley" by The Who (Opening sequence on beach with Skates) *"Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits (End sequence where Crockett & Tubbs go to the building to meet Weldon) Jan Hammer Music *"Clues" (Crockett/Tubbs/Weldon meet at the Ocean Club) Quotes *"Nice work with The Book!" -- Crockett to the Bible-wielding girl who took down Skates *"He may be out where the buses don't run, but the information is correct." -- Tubbs, about Weldon *"This country was built on credit" -- Tubbs *"You're in a bar. Some joker pours about $5 worth of quarters in the juke, starts pressing J-50. Over and over; J-50. Loves the song, right? Tony Arcaro is Hank Weldon's J-50." -- Lang *"Did you smell his (Lang's) sweat, had a definite panic flavor." -- Tubbs *"Yeah, I helped him build the wall. He was my partner, you understand? You understand?!" -- Lang admitting to Crockett he knew Weldon had murdered Arcaro Video Category:Season 2 episodes